


The Case of the Girl Who Wasn't There

by chrissy_sky, TerraTenshi



Series: Casefics [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Case Fic, Coitus Interruptus, Condoms, Empathy, Exhibitionism, F/M, Families of Choice, Healthy Relationships, Het, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Open Relationships, Politics, Polyamory, Post-Series, Requited Unrequited Love, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-16 15:21:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3493289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrissy_sky/pseuds/chrissy_sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerraTenshi/pseuds/TerraTenshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little girl goes missing and the media is sure that one, Trowa Barton, is the perpetrator. The Gundam Pilots come together once again to help their friend clear his name. Meanwhile, Quatre experiences the downside to his Newtype abilities and learns things aren't entirely what they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Safety in Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> This was my Nano project from last November and apart from the last chapter, it's actually mostly done. So if you're worried about this being a multichapter, keep that in mind (and still feel free to wait until it's all uploaded if you wish). Terra and I are still occasionally working on the first draft for Casefic #3 so I've still got plenty more of the series to write up even after this one. XD
> 
> There's also a great deal of sex, primarily healthy and open sex, as the tags imply. Do we really need to warn for that? XD

Chapter One

Quatre Winner looked tired even in his sleep, and not for lack of trying. There were dark circles under his eyes and with his fair complexion, the only way to hide it was with make up. He didn’t wear any now, trusting his companion to keep his secret that the young Winner heir was merely human after all. He had a hand fisted in Trowa’s sweater, as if he were far younger than his seventeen years. 

Trowa sighed and kept his arms around his sleeping friend, feeling incredibly protective and fond in ways he couldn’t put words to. Not because he viewed Quatre as a child--that would be strange since they had been intimate that one time--but because Quatre was important to him. Trowa didn’t have very many friends and the few he did were as precious as his sister was. 

He knew how hard Quatre’s life was dealing with his family business day in and day out. Nor did he have any outlet for his frustrations or anxieties, turning all those negative feelings inward on himself. Trowa wished he could convince his friend to take some more time off than just a few days here and there; or at least to convince Quatre to speak to one of their other friends. 

If only Quatre didn’t have a devastatingly low opinion about himself on some matters. That was something that Duo had noticed first, even though Trowa was the one that knew him longer than their whole group. 

Headlights flashed by the window, disrupting his thoughts. This late--or early rather--there should have been no one driving to the circus. It was quickly followed by the sound of cars parking outside his trailer.

Trowa frowned. The noise hadn’t disturbed his tired friend at all, so he carefully untangled Quatre from his torso, intending to check what was going on. Pulling down the blinds slightly, he could make out shapes illuminated by the headlights of quite a few cars. Suited men and reporters were making their way toward his trailer. 

His frown increasing, Trowa checked to be sure his throwing knives were handy. He didn’t like using weapons when he didn’t have to, especially when he didn’t necessarily need them. But not having access to a gun, the knives were still reassuring in their own way. Cathy had insisted that he learn how to use them, so he had. Older sisters, he was coming to find, weren’t worth arguing with. 

Someone banged on the door of his trailer. “Trowa Barton. You have nowhere to run. Come out!”

Trowa glanced at Quatre, who continued to sleep on his small couch, before he calmly opened the door. “Yes?”

The man outside, one of the suits he saw through the window, was a young man only a few years older than Trowa himself. He was a young officer but carried himself like a former soldier. Probably a former Oz officer, Trowa guessed. 

“Barton, you are being placed under arrest for the murders of Dr. Roots and Dr. Carol, and the kidnapping of Alice Roots.”

The others behind him, mostly the loud reporters with their mics and cameras, began to demand where the girl, Alice, was. 

Trowa frowned. He heard Quatre stirring and draw closer to the door behind him. “I've never heard of those people. Are you sure this isn't some mistake?” He resisted the urge to be rude for the time being, but just barely. 

“There's no mistake, you monster! You're the only one who could have done this! Get on your knees and put your hands on your head!”

From around a corner, Catherine Bloom emerged from the darkness. She was still in her pajamas, but she looked very intimidating being nearly as tall as the officer and with her daggers dangling from her fingers. “What proof do you have that Trowa did this? When did it even happen?”

The ringmaster, along with other members of their trope, many of whom had been part of the circus during the war, began to emerge as well. They all looked grim and ready to fight if need be. The crowd of reporters and suits shifted into a tighter group as they realized they were surrounded. 

“That's none of your concern,” the man in front of Trowa snarled at his sister.

She looked entirely unimpressed. “It is when you accuse a prized Preventor agent of crimes he didn't commit! When did this crime happen?”

Trowa wasn’t sure if prized was accurate, but while he wasn’t a regular Preventor, he was technically on the payroll. He handled jobs for Une that were difficult for most normal agents.

Beside him now, Quatre grabbed hold of Trowa’s arm and made himself visible to the officer. (And subsequently the reporters outside.) “Excuse me, but he was with me all last night.” 

His pale cheeks flushed as everyone focused on him, but lifted his chin defiantly. 

Trowa’s lips twitched as he realized how Quatre’s words would be construed, though they were (if taken literally) not wrong. “This isn’t the way to get his attention,” he told the blond softly. 

Quatre’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “That doesn’t matter,” he responded just as softly. 

Of course it did matter, and to Trowa it was more important than whatever this misunderstanding was about. He wouldn’t worry about some mysterious missing girl until he knew she actually existed. “Do as you like,” he said, shrugging. 

Cathy shifted to stand in front of her brother. “If you want him, you've gotta go through me!”

Around them, other troop members were echoing her sentiments, while the Ringmaster came to stand beside Cathy. 

“Cathy!” Quatre called her name worriedly.

Trowa continued to frown. He didn’t want a riot breaking out in his name. Reaching down, he touched Cathy’s slender shoulder. “I’ll be fine, Cathy.”

More shouts broke through the crowd and Trowa saw, much to his relief, the sight of Preventor agents moving through toward them. Sally Po led the group and she looked far from amused. She was an incredibly tall, fit woman that carried herself like a soldier, despite all her training as a medical doctor. Even her hair braided in plaits on either side of her head didn’t make her any less intimidating. 

“Coming through!” Sally spoke authoritatively. “Preventor Agents coming through! Stop right where you are!”

Beside him, Quatre relaxed as well. “Sally…”

She smiled when she saw them. Like most of the woman they knew, it seemed the five Gundam pilots had earned a great deal of her respect and fondness. It made Trowa grateful to have such influential allies, after fighting alone for so long. He would never think being alone made him stronger again. 

“Come with me, boys,” Sally said. “You're under the protection of the Sanq Kingdom for the time being until we get this sorted out.”

“Oh good,” Catherine said, stepping aside to allow her passed. “I don't need to stab anyone yet.”

Sally chuckled at her remark, while the officers looked disturbed by the girl’s comment. “Not yet but keep those daggers handy anyway.”

“You got it.” Catherine ushered both boys with Sally through the crowd to the waiting Preventor issue cars that were waiting for them. The reporters resumed trying to get answers about the little girl or why the Preventors were involved. Trowa followed Sally’s cue and said nothing in his defense for now. 

Anything that he might’ve said would probably be construed against him anyway. 

“I’m staying here in case they cause trouble,” Cathy told her brother, giving him a brief but tight hug. “ _Call me_ when you find out anything.” 

Trowa nodded and got into Sally’s car with Quatre. Sally started up the engine and drove them down the dirt path away from the circus, leaving the chaos behind them. 

He felt like he could breathe more easily, at least for the moment. “What happened?” he asked Sally now that he had the opportunity. Getting actual information from angry former Oz soldiers would’ve been useless, even if the man hadn’t realized he was a former Gundam pilot. “A little girl is missing?”

Sally sighed, turning her music down low so that they could talk. “Apparently. They were affiliated with the Barton Foundation and are claiming that you're responsible. All we know for certain is that two people are dead.”

Trowa felt like a lead weight was settling in his stomach. So there _really_ was a little girl in trouble.

“How terrible,” Quatre murmured, putting a hand over his chest.

He still looked very tired. Trowa rubbed the small blond’s shoulder instinctively. “But I haven't had contact with anyone in the Foundation since last Christmas Eve, and that was months ago.”

“There were... unusual circumstances.”

Quatre exchanged a look with Trowa at her hesitation. “Unusual how?” his little blond friend asked.

“Hilde has more details,” Sally responded. “We’re picking her up on the way.”

Hilde, like himself, also worked part of the time as a Preventor agent, but she was normally partnered up with one man. “Where’s Duo?” Trowa asked knowingly. 

Sally hesitated again. “... Tied up.”

“He’s gorgeous when he’s tied up,” Trowa sighed wistfully.

In the seat beside him, Quatre flushed brightly. “Trowa!”

Trowa raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes?” Quatre couldn’t have been surprised. He knew what Duo was like. 

Up front, Sally made a loud, amused snort. “It's fine, Quatre. I have to hear it all day when I work with them.”

Not content with the assurance, Quatre continued to fret. “I’m so sorry, Sally. They shouldn’t.”

Trowa shrugged at Quatre’s disapproving look. “She talks about yarn all the time so we’re pretty even.” He knew more things about yarn now than he ever knew was possible. 

Sally laughed. “Now Duo thinks about yarn whenever he needs to calm down. I suppose I'm flattered…”

“The real question is what would happen if we tied him up with yarn?”

Sally laughed more, louder and harder, all while not losing her focus on the road. 

Quatre covered his face with his hands, but Trowa saw enough of his mouth to know that he was trying not to laugh with her at the mental image of a despairing Duo Maxwell wrapped in yarn.

Trowa smiled warmly at the sight. He was glad if for a moment, Quatre could forget about his troubles. If his own troubles were partly the cause. But the current circumstances might give them an opportunity to work on some of Quatre’s issues anyway. 

“Boys,” Sally said fondly, shaking her head. 

“What would you do without us?” Trowa asked.

“That had better be rhetorical.” 

-

Hilde Schbeiker was at the point where she was really trying to remember where the duct tape was. He might have been her closest friend, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find him annoying at times. 

“Hilde…” Duo whined, squirming in the seat that Hilde had tied him to. She had become much more efficient since the first time she had him tied up, during the war. “This is cruel and unusual punishment.” He blew his long bangs away from his eyes. 

“It’s for your own good, Duo,” she told him. As well as her own. Working for the Preventors was something that Hilde cherished and wanted to continue being part of. She just wasn’t made to be on the sidelines, she wanted to be part of the action and to be able to help her friends. 

The boy continued to pout. “You took my picks.”

“Three sets of picks, a bobby pin from your hair, and the paperclip down your pants. Honestly, Duo.” Hilde didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t already known about a couple of those and wasn’t entirely sure she found everything. 

“I don’t like handcuffs,” Duo continued to complain. “Or locks.”

She glanced away from the computer she was working on and eyed him with disbelief. “You do too, liar.”

“Not when nobody’s naked,” Duo reasoned, squirming more.

She supposed that would make a difference. “If I gave you a blow job, would you shut up?” she offered jokingly. 

“Depends.” Duo’s voice lowered. “Are you going to let me return the favor?”

Hilde made the mistake of glancing over at her friend again. Duo’s violet eyes were soft as he looked at her soulfully. She squirmed in her seat as she began to actually think about it, despite the inappropriateness. As she didn’t go looking for casual sex that wasn’t with her friends, it had been awhile since she’d been with anyone, and she knew Duo could make it so _good_. 

“Now really isn’t the time,” she told him. “Your ride’ll be here soon.”

Of course, they both knew that might not be true. The circus was a good distance from their location and Sally was driving by car. 

Duo pouted. “No fun.”

Hilde looked away, back at the computer. “Tease,” she accused. 

“I’m a tease?” he scoffed. “Who handcuffed me with no nudity?”

She felt her face grow warm with both irritation and, as she looked at her friend again, arousal. Hilde knew this was an awful idea, but part of her was exhilarated by the prospect. 

She stood and unbuttoned her shirt, pulling her top open and showing off her bra to the young man. It was simple and white, not something she would’ve worn to show off to a lover. “How’s this?”

Duo smiled charmingly anyway, violet eyes focusing on her chest. “Knew you'd see it my way.”

She was encouraged by his stare and shifted closer with a smirk. “Anything else you wanna see? Just so I can prove I'm not a tease, of course.”

The long haired youth grinned at her offer. “I want to see it all.”

She flushed as she pulled the top of her uniform off, her arousal growing even though Duo hadn’t even touched her yet. Which she was beginning to really want him to. 

“Like this?” Hilde asked softly, unhooking her bra and pulling it off as well, revealing her small breasts.

“Now we're talking,” he said, looking at her bared skin hungrily now. 

She rolled her eyes, her hands going down to her pants. She popped the button loose and pushed down the zipper, letting the boy see a peek of her panties underneath. “More?” 

Duo was returning her smirk. “Why don't you come over here and let me help?”

She did and gasped as, suddenly free, he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. “Duo…” she panted softly in disapproval. 

Duo was smiling impishly, his violet eyes dancing merrily as he cupped Hilde’s breasts and began to fondle them gently, teasing the nipples to hardness. “Yeah?”

Hilde whimpered and squirmed eagerly in his lap, pushing her chest into his hands. “Condoms?” she panted. 

“Pocket,” he responded against her skin as he kissed her throat. 

Hilde hurriedly fished a small roll of condoms out of Duo’s pants pocket, tearing one off and ripping it open. She wetted down the condom with her tongue, dropping the rest and the opened packet to the floor neglectingly. 

Duo moaned and shifted so he could kiss down to her breasts. 

Hilde whimpered more, fingers shaking with excitement as she reached between them to unzip Duo’s pants and palmed his erection through his underwear. With some wiggling, they managed to get the boy’s pants and underwear down enough to reveal his erection and she slid the condom onto his cock. 

Duo hummed as he began to lick one of her nipples, which made her arousal increase, her pussy getting wetter. 

Hilde squirmed one leg out of her pants and pushed the seat of her panties aside so that he could see. “Duo, hurry, I need you…”

Duo grinned, lifting his face from her breasts to take in the sight of her. “Right here,” he panted, holding Hilde’s hips to line them up and push into her. 

She bit down a moan as his hardness slid into her wet entrance easily. “Duo…” she sighed in pleasure. 

He held still, continuing to hold her hips as he nuzzled her cheek. 

She nuzzled back, panting softly. “So good.”

Duo turned his head the last few centimeters to kiss her lightly and tenderly. 

The tenderness made her squirm more. She returned the kiss as she started to bounce in his lap.

Duo moaned happily at her movements, letting her take control as he resumed fondling her breasts. 

She squirmed happily at her sexy smirk, arching her chest up into his touch. “Duo, Duo…”

“So sexy when you let go,” Duo murmured.

She whimpered, bouncing on his cock faster as he began to push up into her. She could feel her orgasm building and did nothing to slow it down, she didn’t want to. “Fuck, so close…” 

“Come on, pretty lady,” Duo encouraged, pulling her nipple between his lips again to suck. 

She gasped louder as she came, her hips grinding down into his lap and her inner muscles tightening delightfully around his penis. 

He moaned happily and reached for her hips again, gripping her ass as his hips bucked up into her tight heat. 

Then there was knocking on the door. “ Hilde? Is our boy ready to go?”

It was Sally.

Duo growled in annoyance but he stilled his hips. 

Hilde, squeaking softly in embarrassment, her cheeks aflame as she scrambled out of his lap, Duo’s still erect cock sliding out of her. “Just a minute!” she said to the door as she hurried back into her clothes. 

Duo groaned and reluctantly pulled off the condom, throwing it away and pulling his pants back up. “I hate you all, so much.”

She buttoned up her shirt and tried to brush her hair back in some semblance of order. “Get serious, Trowa's in trouble.” She checked them both over quickly to be sure they were ready before she opened the door, trying to smile casually. “Hi, Sally. He's all yours.”

Duo groaned and flopped dramatically onto the floor, ruining her efforts entirely. “Hate. So much.”

Sally gave her a knowing look that had Hilde’s flush increasing even more. Her look softened a little. “I won’t tell,” she promised softly.

Hilde relaxed a little but she continued to be embarrassed. She couldn’t even blame it all entirely on Duo’s libido as she’d been equally as horny. That was just the effect that Duo tended to have on people around him. 

The stupid sexy jerk.

-

Trowa raised an eyebrow at his partner’s dramatics, bending down to pick him up in a fireman’s carry. He didn’t need the pair’s disheveled appearance to tell him what had been going on, nor was he particularly surprised that it had happened. Tieing him up had probably been Hilde’s way to get Duo to behave and it had backfired. Trowa wasn’t upset, this was just how Duo was, but he felt a little better already having Duo back in his arms. 

“Oof.” Duo gave his ass a smack. “Hey Tro, how’s it hanging?”

Trowa held him with a hand on Duo’s ass, giving him a squeeze for the pun. “Fine except a little girl might actually have been kidnapped.”

“Man, that sucks,” Duo said as he was carried out of the room. “No one tell Heero. Also can someone get Hilde to give back my picks?”

“I'll bring them to you later,” Sally promised him. “Even though they're not regulation.”

“Of course they're not regulation,” Duo responded, sounding scandalized. “Also the really awesome set was a gift from Heero, bless his twisty little brain.”

Quatre was smiling at their antics, but he still looked tired. “He gave me tea. Apparently he's started becoming open to trying new teas.”

Duo twisted in Trowa’s hold. “Aww, that's adorable. I think he gave Wufei the gift of not talking shit about L5 cluster.”

As if on cue, Wufei stepped out of the shadows near Sally’s car. “He gave me a set of antique books. Trowa, why are you carrying your partner like a sack of potatoes again?”

Trowa finally set Duo on his feet. “He was flouncing again and it was faster than waiting for him to get up.” 

Duo pouted at him, pulling his braid over his shoulder to make sure it wasn’t too mussed. “Admit it, you love carrying me in your arms.”

Trowa tapped his button nose lightly with one finger. “Yarn,” he said, knowing it would calm down Duo’s libido.

The pout increased, the trigger working. “Cheater.”

Trowa smiled enigmatically as he slid into the car. His smile increased as Duo slid in beside him anyway, cuddling close. Wufei slid in the backseat with them, probably to keep anything more than cuddling from happening, while Quatre was up front with Sally. 

“Try to get some sleep, boys,” Sally told them as she drove them back to the freeway, rounding a turnpike. The sun was starting to come up in the horizon. “We won't get to Sanq for a few hours.”

Duo yawned, nuzzling his cheek against Trowa’s shoulder. “Did anyone tell Heero yet? Am I gonna need to tickle him out of a brood?”

“Heero’s not ticklish, Duo,” Quatre said from the front seat. 

Duo smirked. “S'what you think, Quat.”

“Oh…” the blond murmured and then said nothing more, but the car had gone quiet enough that they could hear him.

Wufei kicked Duo sharply.

“Ow!” 

Wufei glared, unrepentant for doling out the punishment. 

Trowa guessed he couldn’t blame Wufei for it, as the Chinese boy was protective of all of them. Wufei still felt intense guilt over having joined the Barton Foundation and turning against them. The protectiveness was almost his way of making up for it, Trowa supposed.

Duo softened, bringing his foot up to rub his shin. “Aw, Quat. C'mon, don't be sad. We're gonna see him soon, you should talk to him.”

“S’fine,” Quatre continued to murmur.

Wufei reached around the seat to touch Quatre’s arm. “You’re tired, Quatre. Sleep.”

Quatre hummed in answer. Wufei left his hand where it was, not seeming to mind the seatbelt straining at his stretch. 

They were all nearly as tired as Quatre looked when they finally reached the former home of Sanq’s royalty. The castle had a long history of strife, having been repaired and reconstructed many times, and now that the country was no longer an autonomous nation, it stood as a symbol of a chaotic past. The Peacecrafts had returned to it, but not as rulers. Though they were politicians, they left the local politics to the locally elected officials of the area. Technically, neither of them even chose to go by the Peacecraft name, but most people still referred to them as _the Peacecrafts_. 

Sally dropped them off, having to leave to get back to work on the case. They they reached the top of the long stairs to the front entrance, it was Pagan, the trusty old butler, that answered the door. 

Quatre felt his mood lightening significantly at the sight of their old friend. “Pagan!” 

Pagan smiled at them, stepping aside to let the boys passage into the castle. “Hello, Master Quatre. Boys.” 

Quatre moved to hug him at the same time Duo did, both of them clinging to his sides. 

“Oh my.” Pagan smiled as he awkwardly patted their backs. 

Wufei chuckled fondly at their display. “No doubt they're hoping for your cooking, Mr. Pagan,” the dark haired youth said respectfully. He didn’t view Pagan as just a servant either.

Quatre pouted at him a little. “Wufei, don't make us sound like children.”

Pagan patted the blond’s head fondly. “You are children, Master Quatre. It would do you good to remember it to.” 

His cheeks flushed but he offered Pagan a smile, knowing that Pagan meant well. Even if Quatre felt decades older than his physical age. “Of course, Pagan.”

“Good. Perhaps you could remind our Master Yuy of it as well.”

Quatre struggled to keep smiling as his worry grew. “We’ll certainly try.”

Duo pulled away, smiling bright. “Speaking of, where is Hee-chan?”

“He’s with Noin,” said a new speaker.

They all looked to see Relena Darlian walking briskly down the old staircase, her sensible shoes clicking softly on the wood. 

“I believe they're dealing with about two or three problems right now, including yours, Trowa.” 

She surprised them by hopping the last couple of steps to hurry over and hug each of them, starting with Duo.

“Aw, boo,” Duo said, hugging her back. “I didn't get to tackle him.”

Relena smiled at him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I'll help you do it when I get home if he's hasn't let you.”

“You’re leaving?” Trowa asked.

The young Vice Foreign Minister nodded. “My driver’s waiting. Press conference that Lady Une and I put together for you.” She kissed Trowa’s cheek as well and gave him a reassuring smile. “We'll get you home by the end of the week.”

Trowa returned the smile softly. “Thank you.”

She embraced Quatre next. “Quatre, thank you for coming. You look tired--Pagan, show Quatre to a room immediately, okay?”

“Of course, Miss Relena,” Pagan said before Quatre could object.

“The one next to Heero's, I think.”

Pagan nodded in agreement. 

Quatre felt his cheeks heating up. It didn’t seem like he was going to have a say in this. 

He relaxed a little as Relena moved at last to Wufei, who stepped back when she tried to hug him as well, his face turning red. “Minister, it’s not proper…”

Relena pouted at him delicately, her lips accented with a sensible pink shade of lip balm. “A gentleman should never tell a lady what's proper,” she said as she tried again.

In the year since the Barton incident, they had all grown significantly closer to the often eccentric former Queen Relena. In no small part due to how close Heero was to her, and them to him. 

Wufei seemed to freeze at her words and held himself stiffly as he was hugged. “Always have to get your way. One of us should be coming with you if Heero isn't.”

Relena pulled back to smile at him, as if the show of grumpy concern pleased her. “I'll be fine and Heero's busy.”

Wufei frowned at her. “You have your taser?”

“Of course!”

“Good,” Wufei relaxed a little as he held the door open for her. 

“Have a good day at work, honey!” Duo called after her. 

She giggled as she descended the stairs to her car. On the gravel, she turned to wave at them all before getting into the waiting car. 

Wufei turned his frown onto Duo after she had gone. “Honestly, Maxwell. Just keep feeding the rumor mill. They already think she and Heero are engaged.”

“More the fool are they,” Duo replied.

Quatre looked at them, uncertain by their words. “ _Aren’t_ they engaged?” he asked, because Relena and Heero being together had been in the papers for months. Heero hadn’t mentioned it but Quatre also hadn’t had a chance to talk to him for longer than he liked to think about. Or any of his friends really, apart from occasional emails. He’d been very busy since the Barton incident, with rebuilding efforts and non-profit charities. 

Wufei snorted. “Of course not.”

Duo drew closer to him, touching Quatre’s arm. “Quat, they're not even dating.”

“He’s living here,” Quatre objected.

“Lots of people live here, Master Quatre,” Pagan, still standing nearby, pointed out in a reasonable tone. “I’m not aware of all of us being engaged to Miss Relena.”

Quatre flushed again. “Sorry, Pagan.”

“It’s alright,” Pagan responded gently. “At the risk of displeasing Miss Relena, why don't we all go see Master Heero first?”

“Yeah!” Duo grinned. “I owe him tackles!”

Pagan nodded and led the boys upstairs. Quatre trailed behind them, feeling uneasy and not entirely sure he was ready to see Heero again. He’d missed his friend--his heart of space, of course he missed him--but it was hard to see the other young man and feel the ache in his chest. He wanted to be more to Heero than just a friend, but he didn’t believe Heero wanted that. Quatre more than a little suspected that Heero didn’t feel sexual attraction to people. 

(Except for Duo’s occasional comments but he was never sure if he wanted to take those seriously.)

One of the doors at the doors at the end of the hallway was ajar, the busy noises of soft muttering and paper shuffling coming from that direction. 

Pagan pushed the door open the rest of the way to allow them into what turned out to be the security room, the occupants of which were immersed in various activities. After a few moments, as Quatre adjusted to the flurry of other people’s emotions in such a confined spaced, he spotted Zechs, Noin, and Heero. 

When they were close enough, Quatre could hear Heero muttering in a strange mixture of Japanese and Spanish. The blond smiled, though he only understood some of the words, enough to know they were pretty graphic.

Duo tackled him while Heero was defenseless and hadn’t noticed their approach, clinging to his back. 

Surprised, Heero almost fell out of his swivel chair and had to twist to keep them upright. “Baka!” Heero hissed in Japanese, bopping Duo on his head.

“Not _imbécil_ so you're not that mad,” Duo shot back.

Heero bopped him lightly again. “ _Kutabare chorra!_ ”

Duo pouted at him. “Okay, I don't even know what that one _means_.”

“‘Drop dead, moron,’” Trowa translated.

“Awww, so mean.”

“What are you doing here?” Heero asked. 

“We came to see you, meanie,” Duo said, leaning in closer and licking Heero’s cheek.

Quatre tried to choke down on a startled noise as he directed his eyes to the floor, not wanting to see more. 

“Quatre?” he heard Heero ask.

He flushed again, this time the warmth creeping down to his neck and shoulders in utter shame, and he wrapped his arms around himself. “M’fine,” he said, because he didn’t matter. Heero could be with anyone he wanted, if he wanted to be with anyone at all. Quatre believed he was being ridiculous about it. 

TBC.


	2. Cordite, Ozone, and Metal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wishes to discuss any of the language topics herein, you're free to leave a response in the comments. Keep in mind before getting angry at us that these are merely our own headcanons and you're free to write the boys however you want.

-

Heero frowned, watching Quatre hug himself. The blond was definitely _not_ fine but he wasn’t sure what to do about it, which wasn’t unusual. It was just like during the war when he and Quatre had traveled to Earth together, sticking close to each other over the course of a few weeks. It had become a truly obvious how inept he truly was at interacting with people his own age, even in a situation that was far from normal. The blond had been hurting so much then and Heero had _tried,_ but never felt he said the right things. 

He sighed softly in resignation, because he still wanted to say something to make it better regardless. For whatever was wrong. 

A motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Wufei was rubbing his forehead. “Yuy,” said the Chinese boy. “Quatre is tired, and Relena gave him the room next to yours. Why don't you take him there so he can get a nap?”

Noin looked up from her work. “Sorry, boys, but you're going to have to entertain yourselves, I need him here.”

For some reason, Wufei, Trowa, and Duo all looked at her as if she had said something apparently ridiculous. 

Noin just raised her eyebrows at them. “Unless you intend to help.”

“Yes,” Wufei agreed immediately. “We'll cover for Heero in his stead.”

Duo pouted. “Aw c'mon, Fei.”

“ _You are going to help, Maxwell_ ,” Wufei stressed the words in a hiss. “So that Heero can take Quatre _upstairs_.”

“Well, fine. Since you put it that way.”

“I _am_ putting it that way.”

“Okay then.”

Heero glanced back and forth between them. “Why me?” What was so important about him being the one to show Quatre to his room? Not that he minded, far from it. But it seemed to be something very important to his other three friends.

“You know the way,” Trowa reasoned.

Heero glanced at Pagan, who was now talking to Zechs, their words too soft for him to discern. He didn’t want to be dragged away from his work necessarily; he was in the middle of something, but he didn’t exactly mind. “Alright.”

He stood, untangling himself from Duo and walking to Quatre’s side. At least the blond wasn’t focused on the floor anymore and seemed just as confused as he was. Closer now, he could see how plainly exhausted that the little heir appeared. Heero’s concern grew. 

“C’mon, Quatre.” 

Quatre’s cheeks turned pink and, strangely, he directed a glare at their friends before following him out of the security room. 

After his eyes adjusted to the softer, natural light coming in from the windows, Heero kept glancing at the small blond as they made their way upstairs. He took the way purposefully slow, even going a roundabout way, that would take a few minutes longer. Since he had Quatre here, he wanted to attempt talking.

“You look tired,” was his awkward opening. He knew it was awkward. It was the best he had. 

“Oh, do I?” was Quatre’s casual return. 

Heero nodded. “You shouldn’t let Trowa keep you up,” he told him, assuming that was the cause.

Quatre’s flush, that had calmed down slightly during the walk, returned. “He didn’t.”

“You said you were with him all night,” Heero repeated what he had seen on the news this morning.

Quatre nodded. “I slept. Some.”

Heero really wanted to give Trowa a talking to, but he wasn’t Quatre’s master. Unless they had _that_ kind of relationship, which was fine if that was what made them comfortable and happy. Even as something dark twisted in his gut that he knew Relena would accuse of being _jealousy_. “It doesn't seem like it was enough.” 

Quatre shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “I suppose not.”

Heero eyed him. “If something is wrong between you two, and you need someone to talk to…”

Quatre shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just tired.”

“Alright,” Heero accepted, because he didn’t want to push and end up driving Quatre away. He turned to the left instead of turning around and demanding answers from Trowa. “Our rooms are down this way. The other way leads to the wing that Zechs, Noin, and Relena use.”

His little friend looked confused. “Oh?” 

Heero nodded, not knowing what was causing the confusion. “I'm actually in our old dorm. It has more room for my things.”

“Oh,” Quatre murmured, seeming if anything even more confused. 

Heero stopped in front of the door. Originally he had been in rooms closer to Relena and Zechs, but he’d wanted a little more privacy. Also, the dorm room that he and Quatre had shared had some of his more pleasant memories he could associate from the war, and Heero decided it was important enough to hold onto. 

“Here we are. This room’s next to mine.” Heero motioned at the other room, waiting to see if the blond would remember. Quatre still looked at him in confusion. “If you don't like it, you can pick another…”

“It's fine,” Quatre said. “Thank you.”

Heero nodded, studying Quatre’s face as he attempted to solve the mystery of what was going on inside the boy’s head. Empaths were drawn to him for mysterious reasons, but Heero didn’t think he had any particular talents in that way of his own. He could sometimes feel their emotions though, like a backwash of sensation on their end, and he tried to sense out Quatre’s now. 

He could make out the confusion, of course, but there were a flurry of other emotions under the surface that he couldn’t quite figure out. He thought he might be able to if he touched Quatre, but that would be very invasive. 

He knew he should try to say something else, something comforting and reassuring, but he just couldn’t think of the right words. He didn’t know what he was meant to do in these situations. “Sleep well,” he settled on instead.

Quatre nodded and smiled at him in what he could tell was a weak smile. He didn’t comment on Heero staring at him. “Good hunting.”

The tired smile made his chest hurt, but he didn’t know what else to do. “I’ll come bring you lunch,” Heero offered. “Want to try some more of the fancy teas?”

“Sure.”

Heero nodded and hesitated a moment longer, not wanting to just leave Quatre like this when something was wrong. He could feel that much at least. But he had to get back to work. Shaking himself, he left Quatre to hopefully catch some much needed rest, and walked back downstairs. 

He attempted to compartmentalize his concern for Quatre for the time being. As he walked back into the security room, he arrived just in time to hear Wufei grumbling loudly in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

It was probably uncommon for someone Wufei’s age in L5 to know both sets of languages, but he had been taught at a young age to be a scholar so it had been necessary. Heero, having lacked a normal education, was basically functionally illiterate in reading and writing kanji. (Hiragana and Katakana had been fine to learn, but he usually wrote things out in romanji.) He’d been young when his parents died, Odin had only spoken knowledge of Japanese, and it hadn’t been on J’s list of priorities. 

The swearing increased in vehemence when Wufei spotted him.

Heero raised an eyebrow, taking in Trowa, Duo, and Zechs’ bemused expressions. “What's going on?”

“Nothing, Hee-chan,” Duo said with a grin, not being convincing and not even attempting to be.

Zechs briefly lifted his glasses off his face to clean the lenses with a tissue. “I never knew Wufei cared so much about my sister's reputation. He does realize no one's seen the pictures right?” the older man asked mildly. 

He still stood taller than the rest of them, which was somewhat reassuring because it seemed that Trowa had had one last growth spurt and his long bangs could now smack Zechs in the face. If he so wished to.

“Wufei's code of honor is... unique,” Trowa said. 

Wufei continued to grumble. In his native Mandarin, he said, “We all have an honor code, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Understanding him, Trowa merely nodded. 

“Also the people that took them obviously saw them,” Duo pointed out. “So technically, someone has, therefore it’s something to be upset about.”

“Fortunately, our security is unmatched,” Heero pointed out. “So it’s more than likely an employee. And female, given the location.”

“Does Relena know yet?” Duo asked.

“Not until we know for sure.”

“She’ll be embarrassed enough as it is,” Zechs sighed, putting his glasses back on, and they all got back to work.

-

After awhile, Noin sighed and shooed the boys away from the work stations they were occupying. “Go eat. Take Heero with you and makes sure he actually gets something. He still has a habit of skipping meals.”

Heero stayed in his seat as the others obediently rose. “Noin, I have a lot of work to do here.”

“Nothing that can't wait, go.” She gave him a look that probably had many Oz cadets shaking in their boots, once upon a time. 

Heero was far from a cadet, but he knew when Noin was going to out stubborn him. He made sure to frown at her in disapproval as he passed all the same.

He followed the other three from the room, behind Duo who was bouncing along while chanting, “Food, food, food.”

Wufei glanced at him over his shoulder and snorted derisively. “Sometimes I can't decide if he's a hypersexed perv or a little kid…”

Heero felt his lips twitch slightly in amusement and didn’t try to hide it. “Why choose one or the other when both works perfectly well?”

“Neither of you were complaining last time I was with either of you…” Duo pointed out in a sing-song voice.

“You and I remember your last visit very differently then,” Heero shot back mildly. 

“Well that time didn't involve sex.”

Trowa looked vaguely amused. “Don’t tease.”

Duo blinked his eyelashes, giving the tall man a wide purple stare. “Don't be a tease, give him a squeeze?”

Wufei muttered something rude in Mandarin that Heero didn’t catch all of. 

“Been awhile, Duo?” Heero asked mildly. “You're sounding frustrated, even for you.” 

“We interrupted his fun this morning.”

Duo whimpered and hugged one of Trowa’s arms. “Hilde felt so _good_ , Trowa.”

Duo was peculiar that way, and he knew that Wufei had to pull some extra strings to keep at least one incident out of the news. Heero didn’t care, this was just how he always knew Duo. Duo liked sex, regardless of the person’s sex or even sexual identity, as was the case with Wufei (who preferred woman). And his partners, usually staying within their immediate group because Duo was conscious enough of that, never got angry with the braided boy for not loyally sleeping with only one of them. It was just how Duo was. 

“You knew we were coming,” Trowa pointed out.

“So was I until we were interrupted!” Duo complained.

Heero rolled his eyes. “Then jump someone already.” It didn’t seem like it should be that complicated.

When Duo looked at him, Trowa smiled. “After we eat. Meals are sacred.”

Heero nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like to grow up and not know if he would have a meal every day. Trowa had had it even worse than himself, at least Odin had always made sure Heero was fed.

Up until his death, at any rate.

Duo pouted but nodded. “Fine.”

Trowa smirked at him softly. “A little wait won't actually kill you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Yes you do.”

The kitchen had enough food for them and the other employees to eat for lunch. Much of the staff had been part of the household since Relena had returned during the war and opened up her school for young women. Even after the school closed and the ladies had left, apart from when Dorothy Catalonia occasionally paid a visit, much of the staff had stayed on. 

It was hard to believe any of them would betray Relena, but Heero was far more cynical than Relena.

Heero reached for a second plate. “We should take Quatre something.”

Duo shared a look with the other two that Heero couldn’t interpret. “Yeah, definitely. Any idea what he'd like to eat, Hee-chan?”

The question struck Heero as particularly strange. Of course he knew some things that Quatre liked to eat, but so did Duo. And the way they kept looking at each other—they were up to something.

Wufei sighed and kicked Duo’s ankle, resuming to picking out the food spread across the large island table. 

Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo. “What are you up to?”

The braided boy had lifted up his leg and was rubbing his ankle. “Nothing. If you can’t figure it out.”

Heero didn’t like the sound of this. He set his two plates down. “Duo.” Duo was one of his few friends. He didn’t like they were keeping secrets from him, whatever their reasons were.

Trowa directed Duo toward the door. “Let’s just go take Quatre something to eat. We can eat with him.”

Heero glanced at Wufei, who just gave him a blank and unamused look. He sighed, picked the two dishes up again and got a food tray so that he could also bring a waiting teaset. He dug into his growing tea collection in the cupboard--on a separate shelf from where Relena kept hers--to pick out the tea for Quatre to try before he followed the others.

“Pushing him isn't going to do Quatre any good, you know,” he heard Trowa saying.

Heero frowned slightly. What would pushing him about something have anything to do with Quatre? A fleeting thought crossed his mind as a possible answer. Surely Relena hadn’t said anything; the things he’d told her were private. But if Relena thought she was helping him through his inaction, perhaps she would nudge the others in the right direction?

“But he asked!” Duo hissed, trying to keep his voice low. 

“And we're not the ones to answer that question.” Trowa reached out to rub the back of Duo’s neck. “I know you mean well.”

“I hate waiting.”

“We’ve spoiled you.”

“I like being spoiled.”

“I know.”

Heero continued to frown at their backs as he followed them upstairs. When the three remembered they didn’t know where to go without him, they paused and waited for him to catch up. That was the end of the mysterious conversation however, and Heero was still no closer to figuring out an answer. 

The guestroom was unlocked. Inside, Quatre was curled up on top of the covers of the bed, and he hadn’t even removed his shoes. 

Heero paused in the doorway with the food tray still in his hands, carefully balanced. Every cord in his body seemed to loosen at the sight of the sleeping blond. He allowed himself, for a few precious seconds, to feel all the complicated feelings he normally tried to keep buried. 

Duo moved around him and bounced over to the bed, flopping onto it and on Quatre.

Quatre whimpered at the rude awakening. “Duo…?”

“Rise and shine, Quat. Lunch is served!”

Quatre sat up. “Just tea, thanks.” 

“Food,” Trowa insisted.

The blond shook his head and lowered his eyes for some reason. “I’m not very hungry.”

Heero sat the tray of food on the bedside table and set a plate with a sandwich in front of him. It was a club sandwich and cut into four neat squares. “Eat, Quatre.”

Quatre blushed, which Heero wasn’t sure what to make of. 

They all piled on the bed with Quatre and their food, sitting in a neat little circle. Heero found himself sitting beside the little blond and felt comfortable with the arrangement. It reminded him of the times he and Quatre would sneak away from the other students here, to get a few moments alone. They hadn’t always talked of only the war on those occasions. It was how he learned Quatre could play the piano.

Duo, on Quatre’s other side, asked, “Feeling any better?”

Quatre didn’t look up from his sandwich, his teacup balanced on a saucer on the bedding, in case there was a spill. “I’m fine.”

Heero felt like that was a lie somehow, but he couldn’t be sure. He senses were just no match for an empath’s. 

The blush grew on Quatre’s skin until even his ears turned faintly pink. Heero found himself fixated by his ears. 

“So you're not sleeping in the same room as Relena,” Trowa said abruptly.

“What?” Heero frowned at him in confusion for the statement and that it had been directed at him at all. “No.” He felt irritated that his friend would even suggest such a thing. That was the kind of thing that the tabloid trash wrote about his and Relena's relationship.

Quatre lifted his face finally. “Why not?”

Heero was less irritated by this, because Quatre seemed honestly as confused as he was. “Why would I?”

“So you’re not sleeping with her,” Wufei cut in as if he needed the clarification.

“I’m not sleeping with anyone,” Heero said. “Neither is she.” His mind quickly drifted to other concerns. “Which may be an issue.”

“How so?” 

“Zechs would happily murder anyone who laid a hand on her and she's resigning herself to a political marriage with someone twice her age.” Heero frowned. “If she's not like me and actually wants someone our age, she's losing her chance.”

Duo leaned forward. “But there is someone that you want that isn't Relena?”

“Duo,” Trowa said in a cautionary tone. 

Heero frowned, honing in on Duo once again. “What are you up to?” His friend only smiled. “Duo?”

Wufei cleared his throat. “Eat, Maxwell. Meals are sacred. We decided.”

“Right, food!” Duo stuffed his mouth quickly, appearing suddenly intent on his meal again.

Heero looked at Quatre again, since the blond seemed to be the only one not in on these shenanigans, and a weight dropped in his stomach. Quatre was looking down again and his expression was tight, as if something had upset him and he was trying (and failing) not to let it show. 

Heero shifted closer carefully. “I don’t know what they’re talking about either,” he told Quatre. 

Quatre smiled at him weakly but made no comment. 

“It's a good think you're not sleeping with the princess then,” Duo spoke up again with a grin, after an awkward pause. “Wouldn't want Zechs to mar your pretty chest.” He reached out and patted Heero’s chest fondly through his fading novelty shirt. 

Heero huffed and pushed the hand away. “ Anyway. The problem remains. I want her to be happy, not stuck in a loveless marriage…”

“Awww, so sweet.”

Heero rolled his eyes and picked at the remains of his salad. “But she won't date, not even casually. She can't really, either. Things like this security leak keep happening.”

Duo grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “You can always send her my way. I'm good at stress relief.”

Rather than just telling Duo that would be out of the question, and he would break his face if he tried, Heero paused and thought about it. “That's probably not a bad idea... At least you three are discreet.”

Wufei blushed at the implication. “ _Three?_ ”

“Yes, you three.” Quatre only liked men sexually so that was obviously off the table.

Trowa shrugged. “If Duo wants to, I’m in.”

“When have I ever said no to a lovely lady?” Duo asked with a wink.

He might have been rhetorical but Heero answered anyway. “Dorothy.”

Duo shivered and made a face. “She's not a lady. She's Satan.”

Quatre gave the braided man a faint smile. “Be nice, Duo.”

“I’m super nice.” Duo rubbed his nose. “Now Relena, she's a real lady,” he added with a goofy smile.

“Who can kick your ass,” Wufei grumbled. 

Heero nodded. Tired of being the weak link in the group, at least physically, Relena had basically demanded that Heero give her some self defense training. Wufei had been volunteered into service and it was agreed by both of them that they’d get her some bulletless weapons to defend herself. 

He and Wufei were pretty proud with how far she’d come.

“That's part of the appeal,” Duo responded with a dreamy sigh.

“As long as you don't make me choose which one to hurt.” Because Relena wouldn’t even need to do anything, Heero would dole out the punishment himself if need be. 

“We won’t hurt her,” Duo said with a more serious expression.

“Good. Because pain, lots and lots of pain.”

“Got it.”

Trowa nuzzled Duo’s shoulder. “You finished eating?”

“Mm, yeah…” The braided man leaned toward Trowa so that they rested against each other.

Trowa smiled warmly, turning his face toward Duo’s for a kiss.

Heero watched them before glancing at Quatre’s direction. He was aware of Trowa and Duo being particularly close over time, but not in a way that they were monogamously together. Even so, he didn’t think that was the kind of relationship Quatre wanted exactly, so it worried Heero that this was part of the problem.

However, he took in Quatre’s quiet smile as the blond watched their cuddling and Heero relaxed a little. If Quatre was really happy with this then he had no reason to get involved. 

“I should be getting back to work,” Heero said after a moment, placing his empty lunch plate on the food tray.

“Aw, Hee-chan doesn’t love us,” Duo said, though he was mostly focused on still cuddling with Trowa.

Heero softened. “I do love you,” he countered the joke with honesty. “But there's a pervert to catch.”

“Awww.”

“I’ll accompany you,” Wufei offered, helping gather up dishes. “I'd prefer to avoid Maxwell behaving like a cat in heat.”

Heero nodded silently. Duo had seduced them both on occasion and so they knew how distracting he could be. 

Duo turned back to Trowa. “And again with the complaints. Neither of them were complaining when we slept together.”

Trowa pulled him closer and nuzzled Duo’s cheek. “I'm sure they're just jealous of me.”

Duo’s expression brightened considerably as he nuzzled back.

“Mm-hm.”

“Just let Quatre rest,” Heero told them.

“Sure, sure.” Duo waved at him neglectingly. 

Heero sighed and decided that was probably as good as he was going to get. “And don’t have sex in my bed.”

“Mm-hm,” Trowa hummed, still nuzzling Duo. 

Heero left with Wufei. There was still much to take care of and he’d like to solve this problem before Relena got home, so that he could focus more on Trowa’s problem.

-

While he was sad to see him go, Quatre knew how busy the former Wing pilot was and that he had a lot of things to do. He felt like a lump, like he should also be doing something, while everyone else was more concerned about him getting more sleep. Sleep could wait, when there were things he could do _now_. It wasn’t as though he’d gotten a lot of sleep during the war. 

He attempted to keep his frustration reined in, though--he didn’t want to burden anyone else with his problems.

Quatre jerked a little when Duo reached out to pet his knee.

Duo frowned worriedly. “You okay?”

Quatre gave him a weak, apologetic smile. “Mm-hm. Just tired, I guess.”

“Wanna play with me and Trowa?”

He wasn’t even a little tempted to say yes, which was probably a sign that he really was more tired than he was lonely. He blushed and shook his head, watching as their cuddling became more serious.

Heero had only made them promise not to have sex in _his_ bed, not Quatre’s. So that was where he retreated to, leaving his friends to their (most likely enjoyable) devices. 

As soon as he was inside, Quatre finally began to remember that this was indeed the room he and Heero had shared during there stay in Sanq while the castle was still a school. 

The room was now much more reflective of Heero and his interests. There were various computer parts scattered around the room as well as other tech equipment that Quatre didn’t immediately recognize. Though there might have been the parts of a cellphone on the coffee table, gutted and pulled apart, that he sort of vaguely recognized. (He may have put a Gundam together one time, but all the parts and instructions had been there, and he didn't remember much about building Wing Zero.) He knew that Heero not only had an interest in figuring out how things worked, but fixing them and improving them. It was relaxing for Heero. There were also books on the two bookcases, piled in as thick as they could be; everything from old hardcovers to well-read, wrinkled paperbacks. On a wide variety of topics that a lot of people probably wouldn’t suspect the ‘perfect soldier’ to be interested in. There was a smaller pile beside the bed. 

There was only signs of Heero in the room, no signs of anyone else. Certainly not Relena. Though Quatre wasn’t sure what he expected to see. Perhaps a pair of used pink panties on the floor? 

Quatre blushed faintly at the thought and toed through the options scattered across the floor, not wanting to invade Heero’s privacy further. He’d honestly been surprised to find the door unlocked. 

The couch was mostly clear of equipment, a blanket being haphazardly thrown over the back and a jacket left folded over the arm. A partially built gadget of some sort was lying on the coffee table with the cellphone parts. 

The bed looked more inviting, but Quatre thought that might be too invasive. He curled up on the clear corner of the couch, pulling the blanket over him. His rested his cheek against the soft leather jacket before he changed his mind and grabbed the clothing article. He hugged the jacket in his arms and smelled Heero’s cologne, as well as cordite, ozone, and metal. 

It was a comfortable and familiar smell. The cologne was new but the rest of it were smells he’d grown used to smelling on Heero, when they were in such close quarters during their time getting to Earth and having to leave again when Sanq fell. Not all of them were good memories, it was just after his father’s death and hurting Trowa, but some memories were good. 

And it was comforting just for being part of Heero. He pressed the material against his nose and breathed, until he drifted to slumber. 

TBC.


	3. It's Been a Long Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay posting. A move happened and there is job searching going on. But Terra got my butt into gear so here we go. :)

-

Stepping into his room to retrieve something, Heero was surprised to find Quatre there on his couch. It was small, but the little blond fit on it with the way he was curled up. Heero set his laptop down quietly and crept closer to the couch.

Quatre was hugging his jacket like it was a plush toy, and while he looked even more peaceful than earlier before he was woken for lunch, Heero couldn’t imagine he was terrible comfortable like that. 

He made his way over to the bed and straightened up the messy covers and make sure nothing was hidden in the blankets. Having poked himself repeatedly with stray bits and screwdrivers was enough to make him more cautious.

Quatre was still asleep when Heero approached him, bending down and carefully picking Quatre up bridal style.

A pale hand immediately latched onto his shirt. “Heero…”

He was still mostly asleep. Heero smiled softly. “It's me. I'm going to put you on the bed.”

Quatre whimpered softly and continued holding onto Heero as he was carried across the room. “I thought I was dreaming you…”

“Because you’re in my room,” Heero noted, still wondering what Quatre was even doing here. Not that he minded, but he was surprised. 

Quatre hummed and continued holding on as he set the other boy gently on the bed. 

“Quatre,” Heero spoke his name mildly, reaching up to loosen his hold. 

His cheeks turned red but the blond finally let go of his shirt. “Sorry…”

“No need to be sorry.” Heero wanted to touch Quatre in a comforting way like Duo would, but he didn’t quite have the confidence to do so. Also touch, for an empath, was invasive if permission hadn’t been explicitly given. “Did you need something?”

“No, just... Duo and Trowa decided to have sex in my bed since they couldn't in yours…” Quatre shrugged helplessly. “So I came in here. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all,” Heero sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think they would just do that.”

“You didn’t know, it’s okay.” Quatre reached for his hand, slowly.

Heero didn’t pull away and relaxed as he was able to feel more of Quatre’s emotions. He couldn’t say how he was able to do this, or why he was able to feel Relena, Zechs, and Quatre so well. He had theories about what it meant but he didn’t know the _how_. Though he suspected, because of his ties to Relena and his ties to his fellow pilots, it had helped draw all of them into being friends. 

“You can stay here,” Heero said. “Or I'll go chase them away for you.”

Quatre rested his head back on Heero’s pillows and smiled up at him. “I’m fine here with you.”

An emotion went through Heero that he was pretty sure wasn’t from Quatre. He wasn’t positive though and even ordinarily wouldn’t feel this physically drawn to anyone. 

Quatre looked away, blue-green eyes scanning the room. “You aren’t with anyone right now.”

Heero wasn’t sure where that had come from or why it even mattered. Perhaps it was just the world in general being so focused on romantic relationships in general. “No.” 

Quatre’s cheeks were red again. “I heard the rumors you were with Relena and knew you only wanted something serious, so I thought…”

So that was it. There were so many of rumors like that, he hadn’t thought his friends would believe it. But he hadn’t exactly talked to Quatre in awhile. He decided to be honest and answer, “She kissed me last Christmas after Noin let her get very drunk on eggnog. It wouldn't have worked out.”

“Why not?”

Heero felt something else vibrate through Quatre suddenly, even though his face looked mostly concerned. He ignored the question and asked, “Quatre?”

“Why?” Quatre pressed rather than giving him a clear response. “You seem perfect together…”

Heero sat down on the bed and attempted to give a thoughtful response, rather than pointing out that none of them were perfect. Most of all himself. “She's resigned herself to a political marriage. Even if she could be talked out of it she still needs someone who can be political with her. Even if I wanted that, I'm too controversial.” Which was not what he wanted. 

He cared about Relena, but that was very different than being what each other wanted or needed.

Quatre’s thumb rubbed the back of his hand. “You only want to be with someone seriously, so that means... she didn't want it to be serious?”

Heero shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I don’t feel attracted to people normally and we’re both very busy. Too busy for a real relationship, and it would only have ever been temporary. It was better to just stay as we are.”

“There's nothing wrong with that.” The blond was keeping hold of his hand and also his jacket. “And she still cares about you so it didn't ruin anything.”

“We're alright, and it's better for the press to focus on me.” 

Quatre clutched onto his jacket tighter. “Is there anyone you do want to be with?” he asked softly.

Heero shrugged uncomfortably. He still wasn’t used to conversations like this. “Duo and Trowa are content with each other, and we're... friends.” He again thought about not having tried to talk to Quatre in some time. It had likely been his own fault, not having the most experience speaking to his friends casually. 

“You don’t sound so sure,” Quatre said, his eyes sad.

“We’re friends,” Heero said more firmly, giving the blond a faint smile. “We never got to talk.”

After hearing Quatre call him ‘Heart of Outer Space’ over the radio after they survived the last battle, it had been one thing after another and Heero never got to ask him about it. The furthest they ever got was a short conversation at the hospital, where Heero and Mariemeia were recovering, that they needed to talk in private. But the conversation hadn’t happened. 

Quatre nodded, looking away. “I’ve been busy too.”

Heero nodded. “We all have. The troubles with normal adult life, I guess. I imagine you haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with Trowa and Duo either.” He still wasn’t sure what kind of open relationship the three of them were having, but he would feel better about it if Quatre hadn’t obviously felt a need to hide in Heero’s room. 

Quatre pulled his hand closer. “I was scared, we almost lost you again,” said the little heir. 

Heero knew he meant the night they almost talked at the hospital. Sally had made his visitors leave so that he could rest and then Quatre had been called back to L4 shortly after. 

“I didn't mean to worry you,” Heero said, though he knew it wasn’t much of a defense. He’d made his friends worry about him many times and not always for a good cause. 

Quatre rubbed Heero’s fingers, which felt great after typing all day. “I know. I didn't want to worry you about WEI. I had to go back to finish handing over the company officially to my elder sisters. Iria currently owns the largest stock.” He smiled shyly at Heero. “It's all finally done though. I've got a lot more free time now. I can just be me.”

“I'm glad.” Maybe this meant that Quatre would have more time to himself.

“But you've remained busy. I didn't want to bother you. Especially when I thought you were with Relena…”

“I have been, helping Noin and keeping Relena and Zechs safe.” They could be a handful, unfortunately, and equally unfortunate were other agents being unable to deal with protecting them. 

Quatre smiled again, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I know.”

Heero squeezed Quatre’s hand lightly. He wanted to see Quatre smile and mean it again, instead of looking exhausted or sad. He wondered if it was solely just adulthood weighing on them especially hard or if there was more he could do. Or if that was just his desire to make things better when he knew Quatre was hurting somehow.

He was going to try, once again, to find out what was wrong and try to get an answer, when a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Heero? I’ve figured out who--” Noin pushed the door open and stopped short when she saw them.

Quatre gave a little sigh and smiled a little more easily at Heero. “It's like being on Peacemillion again.”

“Never a dull moment,” Heero agreed with a faint smile. He tucked Quatre into his sheets gently. “Rest. We'll come get you for dinner.”

“Mm, seems like all I do here is sleep,” Quatre said with a yawn. “I could be helping.”

“You need rest, so don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Heero gave Quatre’s hand another squeeze before gently withdrawing. “You can use whatever's in here. I don't mind. Borrow some clothes if you want to get comfortable.”

Quatre smiled, his cheeks turning pink. “Thank you.”

Heero could feel gentle, quiet waves of happiness and relaxed a little again. 

Noin gave Heero an apologetic look and waved at Quatre. “I’ll only borrow him for a little while.”

“It’s fine.” Quatre rested his cheek against the pillow. “I’ll see you both at dinner.”

“Yup.” 

Heero hesitated at the adorable sight Quatre made in his bed, but he made himself turn and follow Noin out. 

“What was that about?” Noin asked on the way. 

“We were talking,” Heero answered honestly. “He hasn't been on Earth since the Eve Wars.”

“Too bad, I know how much Quatre loves the Earth.”

Quatre, out of all of them, marveled at how different Earth was from the colonies. He found even the way the leaves changed colors with the seasons to be fascinating. “WEI needed him.”

“I don't doubt it.”

“What did you find?” Heero asked, steering the conversation back to the topic at hand.

“You were right. We found out which employee placed the camera in the pool room and who hired her.”

“Has Zechs been told yet?” 

“Not yet, I wanted you there just in case he blew his top.”

Heero nodded. He didn’t blame her. This employee was someone the siblings had trusted, that they had allowed to get close to them, and that trust had been broken. “Alright.”

-

Once the (now former) employee was seen to and all footage confiscated, Heero hurried back up to his bedroom. He wasn’t worried exactly but he was eager to get back to Quatre and check on him before doing anything else that day.

The young Winner heir was not quite where Heero left him earlier. He was lying down above the covers and was no longer wearing pants or shoes, though his button up shirt and socks were still on. The shirt was a little long and came down to his upper thigh, covering up just enough so that it wasn’t entirely improper. A book dangled from one limp hand.

Heero smiled a little, gazing at Quatre after shutting his bedroom door soundlessly. He looked truly adorable and Heero was loath to wake him, but he also knew that Sally would not approve. She had returned from her own investigation and would surely find out. 

On closer inspection, the book was revealed to be Heero’s copy of _Le Petit Prince_. A present from Quatre himself that had come mail carrier as a late Christmas present. Heero liked it quite a lot and was glad Quatre had thought to send it to him. He took the book carefully and marked Quatre’s place with a stray bookmark on the bedside table.

Quatre didn’t wake up from this very much, only curling up on his side and hugging Heero’s jacket against his chest.

Again, he was tempted to just allow the blond to sleep more. He was already starting to look less tired and not quite as pale. But he also needed to eat, so Heero touched his shoulder gently. “Quatre.”

Quatre eyes fluttered open and his lips stretched into a pleased smile. “Heero…”

“Hey,” Heero greeted softly. “It's time for dinner.”

“Oh…” Quatre sat up and yawned. “Okay.”

Some of Quatre’s initial happiness at seeing him felt a little less pronounced somehow. Heero resisted the urge to take Quatre’s hand again. “Do you want me to bring you something?” he asked in case Quatre was merely tired still.

Quatre shook his head, cheeks pink. “I don't want to be any trouble.”

“You’re not,” Heero said immediately because he was not. 

Quatre smiled shyly. “I’ll come with you anyway. Though we still won't get a chance to talk with Duo in the room…”

“True. We could throw him at Trowa and run,” Heero pointed out mildly.

Quatre cupped a hand over his mouth as he giggled. “Oh dear. But where would we run?”

Heero smiled softly, pleased that he made Quatre laugh. “ I'm sure we could find somewhere. Not the rafters…”

Quatre slid past him to climb out of bed, raising his arms and stretching, giving Heero a peek at his plain white briefs. “No, then Trowa will want to join us,” Quatre giggled more.

Heero’s eyes stayed on Quatre’s body, admiring his beauty and adorableness silently. “I have the passcodes to the bunker. We could sabotage the mechanism from the inside.”

Not everyone knew about the bunker. Relena knew about it and, after the Barton Foundation assault, she’d told him very explicitly that she didn’t want to know what was down there. She must suspect, but she did not want to know for sure, and Heero understood that. She was no longer a proponent for total pacifism, she knew it just wasn’t realistic. People were always fundamentally going to be people. But she was still a _pacifist_ and Heero would respect that always.

But there was also a secret bunker under Sanq’s castle regardless and Heero Yuy was going to use it for as long as he had access to it.

Quatre looked back at him with a beam. “We could have a little picnic, just us?”

“If we took some food as well, yes.” Heero already began to plot how to get the picnic items down to the bunker, where they would sit, and how to make it comfortable.

“Sally would be unhappy if we didn't at least take some food,” Quatre pointed out with an amused smile.

“True.”

Quatre smiled and lowered his eyes, tugging at the sleeve of the button up shirt he was wearing. It was a little big for Quatre--because it was from Heero’s own closet, he realized belatedly. It must have been poked behind his tee-shirts, since he hadn’t had to dress for a function in a while. 

Heero wasn’t sure why but this made Quatre even cuter. “You could’ve borrowed a regular shirt too. Are you cold?” He knew how cold it could be with the air conditioning, it was usually turned up very high due to the castle being so large. 

“I’m fine,” Quatre said shyly. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Ready to go?”

Quatre smiled. “For dinner with the others or for the picnic?” he asked almost teasingly.

Heero responded likewise. “We'll have to see how annoying Duo is.”

Quatre nodded but he didn’t lift his face still. “Okay.”

He felt a sinking sensation from the blond and he couldn’t discern what it was again. “Quatre?”

“Hm?”

“What's wrong?”

Quatre looked up shyly through his blond fringe, his cheeks flushed again. “I… Heero…”

There was a sharp knock on the door. “Heero, dinner.”

Heero held in a curse as Quatre sagged again. He’d been so close! “In a minute, Sally.”

“Oh, no, dinner now,” said the doctor. “You and Duo already give me fits about your weight.”

“It’s alright, Heero,” Quatre murmured shyly. “But I should probably put on some pants.”

“Why?” Heero asked without thinking, because he thought Quatre looked just fine as he was. Trowa and Duo would probably like it even more than he did. 

Quatre’s face turned redder as he motioned at his bare legs. “Um…” 

Shrugging, Heero reached into his closet and found Quatre clean pajama bottoms to slip into. “Alright, we’re coming,” he said to the door once Quatre was dressed, pulling it open.

Sally was, as he expected, still waiting outside the door. Her eyes widened when she saw who Heero was with. “Oh. Oh! Sorry boys, did you need a minute?”

Quatre made a strained little squeaking noise. “It’s okay, Sally, really.”

Heero again wondered what everyone knew that he didn’t about Quatre. It was beginning to be irritating. “Why does everyone ask that after they already interrupted?” he asked idly.

“Because we like Quatre.”

Heero didn’t bother to point out how that didn’t actually answer his question. 

“Besides, I didn't know I was interrupting anything,” Sally added.

“It’s alright, Sally,” Quatre said again.

“Aw, too bad,” she said, ruffling his hair.

Quatre’s cheek turned red again. 

Heero continued to frown but kept his irritation to himself. 

Sally led the way to the dining room, the smaller and slightly more comfortable one not used for parties, and there were three chairs left unoccupied at the table. Two right beside each other, and these were the ones Heero and Quatre were placed in. Heero had no complaints but he wasn’t sure what his friends were up to with not giving him a choice.

He ended up sitting across from Wufei with Relena on his other side at the head of the table. 

She smiled at Heero in greeting. “I was just telling everyone how the press conference went. I feel really positive about it, and Une already has some leads to clear Trowa of any wrong doing.”

Heero nodded, having seen clips of the conference earlier while working. Relena still had a great deal of clout and her endorsing Trowa’s innocence was already helping in the eyes of the public. 

“Why'd they accuse him in the first place?” Duo asked.

“Good question,” Heero said. “The facility was supposedly secure and the security footage was wiped. But Trowa's security clearance ran out months ago in the Foundation when he was caught by Wufei. I’m not sure what they hope to gain from this, if anything.”

Wufei sniffed a little, affronted, as everyone turned to look at him. 

Quatre intervened smoothly. “And someone apparently smuggled the little girl off colony without being seen.”

Zechs swirled his wine around in his glass. “That's a strange part. There's no record of the girl before the incident.”

Heero frowned at the former lightning count. “None? What are they basing the kidnapping charges on then?”

“There were pictures and a bedroom.”

“But she could be staying at a friends or relatives!” Duo cried in outrage.

Zechs shrugged, glancing up from his wine. He appeared to be just as frustrated. “The Foundation representatives are pressing that it was a kidnapping, all the Earth's Sphere government can do is look into the charges. That was why we and the Preventors stepped in. It's obviously a frame job.”

“You'd think they could find someone better to frame than one of the people that saved their asses.”

Wufei folded his fingers on the table. “There are still some within the Foundation that are bitter about Dekim Barton losing. They're the same, forgive my crudeness, the same assholes that want to take custody of Mariemeia.”

Zechs made a face which Noin chuckled at.

“But it’s alright,” Relena said reasonably. “We're not letting them have Trowa or Mariemeia.”

“Nope,” Duo said, wrapping his arms around Trowa. “Tro is ours.”

Trowa smiled. “Thank you, dear.”

“ Anything for you, honey-bunny.”

Zechs began to choke on his wine. Noin patted his back.

“Sugar muffin,” Trowa returned, gazing at Duo.

“Sweet potato,” said Duo.

“Light of my life.”

“Angel face.”

“Don't tell people they look like Lovecraftian horrors,” Heero pointed out mildly before biting into his grilled chicken.

Quatre cupped a hand over his mouth again to hold in a giggle.

“Baby cakes,” Trowa said, still gazing at Duo but trying not to laugh some more.

“Cannibalism,” Wufei muttered.

“Murder wizard,” Heero added under his breath.

Duo groaned and pressed his face into Trowa’s shoulder. “Ugh, no, no talking about that thing, nope.”

“A murder wizard did it,” Trowa said into Duo’s hair.

Duo groaned again. “Tro…”

Quatre giggled more. “Trowa and Duo have been making me watch it since I've been visiting,” he explained to Heero.

Heero nodded. It was the same for himself. Though in his case, he didn’t watch TV a lot not just because he was busy, but because he wasn’t used to it. He didn’t think he’d watched a whole lot of TV since Odin died. The assassin would watch movies and children’s shows with him, especially on the weekends. Those relatively simpler occasions had all come to an end the day Odin died and Heero wandered the streets until a strange scientist picked him up.

Upon learning that Heero hadn’t watched anything since Sesame Street, Duo had been all too eager to tell him what to watch.

“Everything is terrible and everything hurts,” Duo bemoaned dramatically, clutching at Trowa’s shirt.

Trowa cuddled him close while feeding Duo bits of his dinner. “I know. Eat. Gotta keep your strength up, season three is coming in a few months.”

Duo pouted. “My body is not ready.”

“Untrue. Your body is always ready.”

Wufei made a disgusted noise but Heero didn’t think it was out of any surprise. Trowa and Duo tended to flirt outrageously like this when together long enough. 

Relena cupped her cheek, comfortable enough to set her elbow on the table. “I miss having time to watch more shows…”

Noin smiled at her cheerfully. “You could if you and Zechs didn't get into so much trouble.” Her voice didn’t sound angry but there was a sharp edge to it that echoed some underlying frustration.

Not that Heero blamed her. He shared a lot of those frustrations.

Relena pouted at her future sister-in-law. “Miss Noin, that's not fair.”

“Oh no? Heero, how many times have Zechs and Relena gotten kidnapped or held hostage since the Eve War.”

“That mess with the terrorists last month doesn't count,” Zechs grumbled before Heero could answer.

“Why not?” Noin asked him, her eyes narrowing slightly even as her smile never faded. 

Zechs motioned with his wine glass to encompass himself and his little sister. “Relena and I took care of them before you and Heero arrived.”

“They still took you by force, it counts,” Heero told him. “And to answer Noin’s question, it was five times.”

Zechs pouted and downed the remains of his wine. 

“I didn’t hear about this,” Quatre remarked, glancing around the table at the parties involved in concern.

“We try and keep things quiet when we can,” Noin told him, not unkindly.

Quatre hummed, still looking troubled. “Mm. And I haven't been able to talk to Heero in awhile, so…”

Heero couldn’t quite hold in a wince from the guilt. They had already talked about this but he still felt like he could have done more to keep in contact with people.

“Yeah, Hee-chan is crap about that,” Duo remarked, teasingly.

Quatre flushed. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, it’s my fault too…”

Wufei shifted in his seat, and Heero saw Duo wince. “Yes, yes, we're all terrible people.”

As Duo began to bicker with Wufei, Quatre pushed away from the table.

“Quatre?” Heero asked softly.

The blond gave him a weak smile. “I'm not feeling very hungry, so I'll go back upstairs. Excuse me.”

Heero frowned. “Quatre, wait…”

Quatre hesitated, looking at him shyly through his fringe.

He still couldn’t interpret the look, other than his friend seemed to be in some sort of pain for strange reasons. So he took his chance--he reached out and softly brushed his fingers against Quatre’s wrist, over his pulse point. In the rush of sensations not in his own, Heero was able to decipher some of the problem. There was guilt that matched his own, as well as tiredness and feeling overwhelmed, and an ache for something that Heero couldn’t figure out. 

He didn’t know what had caused the sudden mood change, but Heero hoped it was more to do with not keeping in touch and not Trowa and Duo cuddling. At least the talking was something he somewhat knew how to fix. 

He pulled his hand away again. “I'll bring you something later?” he offered.

Quatre shivered a little at the touch and smiled shyly. “Okay.”

Heero nodded and let him go, watching him leave. There was a blush on Quatre’s cheeks that didn’t seem entirely unhappy.

“Aww,” Duo pouted.

Heero sighed, still worried. “I wonder what’s wrong…”

There was a faint slap. Heero looked back to see that Trowa was holding his hand over Duo’s mouth.

“What?” Heero demanded.

“Nothing,” Trowa said, green eyes carefully blank.

~TBC~


	4. A Long Time Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a shorter update but hopefully it'll leave you in slightly less suspense!

-

Heero frowned and looked around the table. They all either looked at him openly or focused on their plates. It was becoming more and more obvious that they were keeping something from him that had to do with Quatre. 

If he demanded answers again, it would do no good. It seemed that whatever was going on, it was something that they wanted to figure out on his own.

_Fine,_ Heero thought as he returned to his meal. He _would_ figure it out. Then he would decide if payback for this secret keeping was necessary, depending on how serious this secret was. If something was wrong with Quatre then he wanted to know and didn't feel they had a right to keep it from him.

He ignored the others’ stares as he finished eating and let the others take over the conversation. He prepared a small serving to carry upstairs to Quatre. 

He also ignored Relena hiding a smile under her hand as he took the food and left the room without another word. She didn't try to call him back, which was almost enough in itself to make him more suspicious. He tried not to feel betrayed either--not when Relena obviously knew the same thing the others seemed to. How could she keep this from him, after Heero had told her where his own feelings were directed? 

When he got back to his room, he saw Quatre was once again occupying Heero’s bed, the jacket over Quatre’s torso like a blanket.

Heero sat the tray down on his desk and went over to the bed, sitting beside Quatre. 

Quatre’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled shyly when he caught sight of Heero. “Hey…”

“You alright?”

Quatre uncurled a little, yawning as he nodded. “Yeah…”

Heero motioned to the food. “I brought dinner if you're hungry now.”

The blond moved closer to him, setting his jacket aside. “I can try.”

“You don't have to if you don't feel like it,” Heero said, because he hadn’t meant to make Quatre feel like he had to.

“But you brought it for me,” Quatre said, eyes fluttering shyly.

“It’s okay. I can get you something else later.” Heero hesitated. He enjoyed the closeness, Quatre’s sleepy body radiating warmth. “Lie down?”

Quatre flushed but nodded, shifting to lie back down. 

Not giving him warning, Heero lied down as well, carefully fitting himself up against Quatre's back. He tangled them together so they were touching as much as possible, curling an arm over Quatre’s abdomen, feeling the blond’s chest rise and fall. 

Quatre whimpered softly and clutched onto his arm. 

Heero cuddled against him gently, feeling Quatre slowly loosen up and calm down in his arms.

“Heero?” Quatre asked softly. “Is there anyone you want to be with?”

“Maybe someday,” Heero hedged, feeling a terrible, clenching sensation in his chest. He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted, to be perfectly honest with himself. But he thought he understood what he was feeling and what it meant. Just not why it should hurt _and_ feel good to hold the blond like this.

“I have someone I want,” Quatre continued in a soft voice, face turned slightly toward Heero’s. “I don't think he could feel the same though.”

“I’m sorry,” Heero said, not wanting to be angry at Trowa but feeling something close to anger regardless. Especially when he was holding Quatre and could feel the empath’s own aching.

“But he's single, so I almost want to tell him,” Quatre went on. “I'm somehow hopeful even though he has no reason to love me back.”

Heero held in a frown. Trowa was technically _not_ single. He wasn't sure what he and Duo qualified themselves as but he doubted that was it. “You are very loveable,” he argued, because Quatre hadn’t heard that enough that he’d started to believe it. 

Blue-green eyes focused on him with intensity. “Should I tell him?”

“If you like. Is that why you've been upset?” 

Quatre nodded shyly. “Yeah. More or less. It sounds perfectly wretched and cliche, doesn't it?"

"Not really. It could be your empathy that's making it worse, couldn't it?" 

"I'm thinking that must be the case." Quatre sighed, lashes fluttering. His pale lashes were long and delicate looking, up this close. "I haven't talked to him in a long time and I thought he was dating someone else…”

Heero went still as all the questions about him and Relena earlier came to mind immediately. As well as everyone keeping something from him. “Quatre?” he managed, hardly daring to breathe, let alone get his hopes up. 

The blush was back on Quatre’s cheeks. “He's my heart. I've wanted to tell him for a long time now.”

Heero felt his heart beat a little faster as he reached for one of Quatre’s hands, the blond meeting him and tangling their fingers together. His was tanner in comparison to Quatre’s fair complexion, but their hands were equally calloused. Either way, their fingers fitted together like they had always meant to be. 

Heero nuzzled a little, his nose rubbing against Quatre’s cheek. “Quatre?”

“Hm?”

“You should ask him,” Heero said, because he was ready to hear what Quatre had to say. What likely was overdue to be said. 

Quatre bit his lower lip before nodding. “Okay…” His blue-green eyes turned anxious. “I love you, Heero. Do you want to be with me?”

Heero smiled faintly. “I do.” It didn’t take any thought at all. Maybe it should have, but he wasn’t sure how these things worked. 

Quatre laughed shyly and cuddled close. “Even though you’re busy?”

“Mm, yes,” Heero said. Being busy didn’t really seem like it would matter. He would just make time to be with Quatre. 

A soft kiss was pressed against his neck. “Okay,” Quatre murmured into his skin.

The ache in him was gone. Heero could feel a soft fluttering happiness that echoed within himself, making him feel very calm and relaxed. The more the minutes that passed, he began to wonder which emotions were his or the empath’s, but Heero also didn’t care too much. He trusted Quatre to that level. 

He pressed a kiss against Quatre’s forehead, getting more fringe than skin, and smiled as Quatre lifted his face. They kissed properly for the first time, a soft and lingering meeting of their lips. It wasn’t their first kiss ever but they were both testing out how it felt to do it with each other. 

Quatre moaned happily, one hand clutching onto Heero’s shirt. 

“Quatre,” Heero murmured, kissing Quatre’s smiling mouth some more.The lithe body in his arms shivered, which he could feel with Quatre pressed so close to him. 

“Hm?” Quatre hummed.

“I love you too,” Heero told him, just so that it was clear and there were no more misunderstandings. He was still a little irritated that this was what the others had been trying to keep from him. Also that he’d been led to believe that Trowa and Quatre were together, but that was more his own fault than theirs. 

Quatre smiled radiantly and, in his enthusiasm, climbed on top of Heero to kiss him some more. They were still light pecks but the kisses were getting more confident as both boys grew more used to it.

Heero wrapped his arms around Quatre’s waist to keep him close. He thought he quite liked Quatre taking the initiative like this. 

“M’heavy?” Quatre murmured between more kisses.

Heero tightened his arms a little in case Quatre even thought of getting off. “You’re fine.”

Quatre hummed and kept kissing him happily. Heero rubbed his back and continued cuddling him, soaking in all of the blond’s pleased contentment. It was nice and he liked knowing that he could make Quatre feel better, at least for the moment. Not everything would be so easily solved with kisses and cuddling, he realized. He was just glad that for now, Quatre was warm and relaxed above him, and feeling much better. 

Heero slowly became aware of moaning and thumping from the next room. Quatre stilled above him as he noticed it too. Their gazes met and Heero rolled his eyes, bemused by the interruption. 

Quatre relaxed again quickly and giggled against Heero’s lips. “They're having sex in my bed, aren't they.”

“Again, yes.” Heero continued cuddling the smaller body close to his own. “Want to stay here tonight?”

“Mm, I want to stay as long as you allow it.”

Heero smiled softly. If that was the only stipulation, then he would easily always allow it. “Then stay.”

“Okay,” Quatre agreed, ducking his head again to kiss Heero’s neck some more. 

Heero nuzzled his cheek against Quatre’s soft blond hair fondly, liking the sensation of how his hair felt against his skin. 

The thumping and moaning continued. Quatre giggled more.

Heero smiled warmly at the sound and rubbed Quatre’s back. “Do you want to eat?”

Quatre lifted his head, his lips pressed together to stifle more laughter. “I think I can eat now.”

“Good.” Heero gently eased Quatre off of him so that the little heir could sit up, reaching across him for the food. “It’s probably cold now.”

“It’s fine.” Quatre ate in small bites, but much more normally than before. 

This pleased Heero. He was glad that Quatre’s appetite was coming back as well. 

He glanced at the wall thoughtfully. “You're here. Trowa and Duo are next door. Where's Wufei?”

“Hmm.” Quatre sat his fork down and reached for one of Heero’s hands, closing his eyes.

Heero allowed their fingers to tangle together again, enjoying the surge of warmth. It was a strangely pleasant sensation to feel the empath reaching out with his senses. Zechs and Relena didn’t know how to use their own skills like Quatre did. 

Eventually Quatre answered his query. “ ... He's with Relena, on the west side of the mansion. What's over there?”

“Tea garden,” Heero answered, familiar enough with the residence to answer right away.

Quatre’s eyes snapped open, his face lighting up with interest. “Miss Relena has a tea garden? How fun.”

“I'll show you tomorrow,” the former Wing pilot promised. “Noin says some days the only thing she can get Relena and Zechs to agree on is tea.”

Quatre squeezed the hand he was holding lightly. “Oh no, are they finally arguing like siblings?”

“Worse, like politicians.”

“Oh dear.” Quatre leaned against his side as he resumed eating, finishing up his serving of dinner almost entirely. “I'd enjoy being shown around though. The mansion seems different since we attended school here.”

Heero nodded in agreement. “They've changed a lot.” He wasn’t sure how much Quatre remembered from their initial inspection of the castle back then, but he didn’t mind showing the blond regardless.

“You probably changed things too.”

“I hoped sometimes.” Mostly from the security end and he wasn’t sure how much Quatre would be interested in that side. 

Quatre swallowed his last mouthful and kissed his cheek softly, their faces close as the blond smiled at him shyly. 

Heero nuzzled Quatre’s smooth cheek, his own a little scratchy despite having shaved that morning. 

Quatre giggled again, a light and giddy sound, as he set the plate in his lap aside absently. He nearly dropped it in the process. 

Heero squeezed their fingers still threaded together. 

The blond hummed. “Mm, it was here two years ago that I fell in love with you…”

“Hm?”

“Nothing, just remembering,” Quatre kissed his cheek again softly. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Okay. Bed?” Heero suggested softly. It was still early and Quatre had slept most of the day away, but the blond could need more rest and Heero was certainly tired. 

“Mm, yeah,” Quatre hummed as he kissed and nuzzled sweetly like an eager kitten.

Directing the blond gently back onto the now mussed bedding, Heero wrapped his arm back around Quatre’s waist and kept him close, pulling the light blanket over them. He didn’t mind not being ready for bed. His shoes were off at least. But Quatre was warm and adorable in the borrowed pajamas, so Heero was loath to let him go anytime soon. 

Quatre cuddled close once they were settled together. “Am I too close?”

“You’re fine.” Heero kissed his forehead. “Just fine.”

“Good,” Quatre hummed dreamily. “I think I need to keep touching you for awhile…”

“Alright. Whatever you need.”

Despite not knowing if Quatre could still be tired, the blond drifted off gradually in his arms, their hands still tangled together. 

TBC.


	5. Tea Gardens

In the early morning hours, Wufei woke early to take advantage of the time he could have alone to his thoughts. He exercised a little and showered before the sun had fully risen; it was a luxury he didn’t normally have when he was around his friends. 

He grabbed a book from his bag and headed out to the garden that the Peacecrafts and Noin had shown him the night before. The air was cool and peaceful in the early morning and Wufei took a seat underneath a tree. As the sun hadn’t risen, it wasn’t unbearably warm yet. The peaceful atmosphere of the garden lulled him into a relaxed state and he was able to concentrate fully on the book, immersing himself in the fictional crime drama. 

The French doors clicked open and Wufei only looked up from his current page to identify the person who had joined him in the garden. When his brain registered what Relena was wearing, Wufei double-taked and looked up properly. He knew he was staring but he couldn’t quite help himself.

The former queen was dressed far more casually than Wufei ever remembered seeing her. This was fine, of course, for this was her home and she had the right to do so. But Wufei was a guest and his brain went into overdrive at the impropriety of his situation. His clan elders, should they have still been alive, would have been furious for being in the same location as an eligible noblewoman dressed so. He would have been severely punished for the infraction. 

Even though logically he knew her outfit was fairly tame and it was only his clan’s old fashioned rules that had been drilled into his memory. She wore pink shorts that stopped pretty far up her thighs and a white tanktop with lace around the bodice. 

Relena hadn’t noticed him yet. She picked up a basket and some garden shears, walking into the garden proper which was still in his line of sight. She walked along the little rows, snipping off some tea leaves and then moving onto the herbs to search for a compliment. 

Though Relena had talked about doing this just the night before, Wufei had assumed the girl would want servants to do this for her. Not that she would do it herself.

He knew he shouldn’t just keep staring. It was just as inappropriate and a breach in conduct, if not a breach in friendship. He attempted to gather his thoughts and his warm face before walking over to her, book clenched in his hands. 

“Good morning.”

She looked up at him, surprise clearly written on her features. “Good morning,” she returned.

Wufei motioned to her tea leaves in an attempt to start a conversation. “What are you making this morning?” It at least continued the conversation from the evening before.

Relena hummed and turned back to her herb plants. “Not sure yet, We have bergamot oil but I'm not in the mood for Earl Grey I think.”

“The Earl Grey last night was very nice,” Wufei said even though he said as much before.

Relena smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”

Wufei smiled softly, feeling confident as he began to relax. “Could I try whatever you make this morning? If you don't mind the company, that is,” he added, still awkward.

Relena beamed at him. “I’d like that!”

It was the kind of smile he’d only seen her direct at Heero or her brother before. Wufei blushed a little and pointed to another plant. “How about these?”

“Lemon verbena, alright,” she agreed, snipping off a few sprigs and adding them to the collection she had in her basket. As she bent down her hair, only partly pulled back, fell over one of her shoulders. 

Wufei wasn’t memorizing how the wheat-colored hair looked against her skin. “This is definitely something I miss when I'm not on Earth,” he said, motioning around them. “Being outside is so different here.”

“It is. It's so alive here.”

Wufei grimaced as he instinctively brushed a bug off his arm. “Of course that also includes the bug life.”

The young Minister made a girlish little giggle. “True. We have bug spray.”

Wufei grimaced again. “Thanks, but I’ve already showered today.”

She snickered at him, which Wufei didn’t mind so much as the mood between them felt less awkward and almost approaching comfortable. He tried, mostly with unsuccess, to not stare at her legs as she added a few more herbs to her basket.

As she rose from her crouch, he reached out to help her up. 

Relena smiled. “Thank you.”

Wufei felt his cheeks grow warm again and was tempted to blame it on the growing heat. “My pleasure. Shall we go inside before the insects eat us alive?”

She nodded and headed back to the patio doors, Wufei a step behind as he followed her inside. 

If she noticed how he continued to stare, she didn’t comment on it.

-

Waking up beside Heero that morning was worth not having gotten a lot of sleep that night. Quatre wasn’t used to sharing a bed with anyone and Heero was an even lighter sleeper than he was. He would have worried if Heero also hadn’t woken with a sleepy smile that matched his own. It would hopefully be something they could grow more used to in the future, after they’d done it long enough.

Heero sat beside him on the kitchen counter, the two of them leaning against each other tiredly as they sipped coffee and attempted to wake up. 

“Should we sleep separately?” Heero eventually asked, also absently looking at something on his tablet. 

Quatre was ready for the question though and shook his head. “I’m still not as tired as I have been.”

“That’s not good.”

Quatre smiled and pressed sleepy kisses against Heero’s neck. “Mm, I’ll get better. We just need to get used to each other.”

“Hmm.”

Wufei and Relena entered the kitchen together and Quatre greeted them with a smile. “Morning!” 

Relena returned his good cheer. “Good morning, Quatre, Heero.”

Heero hummed absently in answer. Wufei stopped where he was and studied the two other boys for a moment. Quatre couldn’t really tell what he was thinking by the ambiguous stare. 

“You look better, Quatre,” Wufei said by way of actual greeting.

Quatre felt his face warming up. “Do I?”

Relena hummed as she went about using fresh herbs and leaves to make her morning tea. “Would you like some tea, Quatre? Or are you fine with Heero’s coffee?”

“No, tea would be lovely.” Heero had had to add a lot of creamer and sugar to Quatre’s, since he was more used to have fancy coffees and not just normal coffee. “Heero?”

Heero was still mostly occupied by whatever he was working on with his tablet. “Hm?”

“Tea. It's good for you.”

Heero raised his coffee mug. “Coffee. It has caffeine.”

“So does tea,” Quatre pointed out with amusement.

“Not enough.”

Quatre giggled and took Heero’s mug. “I’ll get you a refill then,” he declared as he hopped off the counter and went to the fancy coffeemaker. 

Heero hummed. “Thanks. Ugh.”

“Hm?”

“Going over one of Relena’s speeches. ‘Though Duke Durmail's actions were misguided his goal was still admirable, and worth remembering.’”

Quatre looked up from the coffee pot, catching Relena’s gaze. “Do you need something from Dorothy again?” 

Due to her friendship with Relena, the Catalonia family hadn’t had to pay as many reparations as other Romefeller families after the war. That didn’t mean that a good chunk of donation money didn’t come from Dorothy herself as the girl sought to correct mistakes she had made. 

Relena snorted softly in amusement. “No, she'd be disappointed in me for being so obvious if I tried something like that with her. I’d need to be far more subtle. But there are still those who agreed with Durmail, and it never hurts to humor them.”

“He was a psychopath that threatened to murder you,” Heero reminded her with a flat tone.

She smirked at him. “ _You_ threatened to murder me.”

Heero shrugged. “I threaten to murder everyone, it's why I'm not a politician. Also, not the point.”

They were joined in that moment by Duo, who yawned as he entered the kitchen. “It’s like in the _Princess Bride_. Only instead of ‘as you wish’ it’s ‘I’ll kill you.’ That’s how you know he cares.”

“Even though ‘as you wish’ serves my current mindset better,” Heero responded easily. 

“Aw, we love you too, Hee-chan.” Duo sauntered over to him and nuzzled Heero’s arm sleepily.”

A day before, Quatre would have gotten incredibly jealous by the casualness. Instead, Quatre swatted Duo’s butt as he passed by, returning to Heero’s side with his coffee. “We do,” he agreed.

Duo stuck his tongue out at Quatre. “My Heero, I saw him first, get your own.”

Normally, Quatre would have let it go, but his friend’s presumption made him inexplicably irritated. He gave Duo an innocent look. “I've had my empathic abilities since I born, and as I discovered, those powers are irrevocably linked to Heero. So technically, _I_ have first dibs.”

He still needed to discuss this with Heero, but Duo already knew a little about the ‘Heart of Space’ and its connection to Heero in particular. 

Duo pouted but he was also smiling. “Aww, that's not fair.”

Beside him, Heero hummed and sat down his tablet so that he could hook an arm around Quatre while still sipping his coffee.

Quatre smiled, pleased with this as he snuggled into Heero’s side. “I win so nyah.” He punctuated this statement by sticking his tongue out at his braided friend.

Duo pulled back from Heero to stare at the two of them on the counter in shock. “Whoa whoa, somebody stop the train. Did something happen between you two? _Finally_?”

Quatre continued to look at Duo with false innocence. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

Duo pointed at them dramatically. “It totally did! Oh my god!”

Far less dramatic, Wufei was smiling at them warmly. “Congratulations. Though I'm surprised it took you both so long to figure it out…”

“Figure what out?” Quatre asked him with continued guilelessness. 

Relena was giggling at their antics. “Now _that's_ not fair. At least let us make a big deal out of your happiness.”

“Of course I’m happy to be here, Miss Relena,” Quatre kept it going. “Seeing my friends always makes me happy.”

She giggled more and attempted to serve the tea when it was done, but Wufei beat her to it. 

Quatre watched them dance around each other with a growing familiarity and approved of the change in Wufei’s normally cranky demeanor. 

On the other hand, Duo continued to pout. “So unfair, you can't even tell he's lying. Do you know how many people would kill for that skill?”

“That part wasn’t a lie,” Heero told him.

“How can you tell? Is it because Quatre's your favorite now? Have I been _replaced_?” Duo demanded with a dramatic sniffle, a hand pressed against his chest. 

Heero looked at Quatre with a mild expression. “He'll try to talk us into threesomes now.”

Quatre blinked at him with wide, hopefully comical eyes. “He wasn’t already?” 

Heero snorted at his expression, which was probably very silly and vapid, Quatre realized. The former Wing pilot didn’t seem to mind the joke and rubbed his shoulder.

The pout was gone in a flash. “Ooo, can we?” Duo asked eagerly.

“Whatever Quatre wants.”

Duo looked like all his Christmases just came at once. “Oh, Quat…” he purred, batting his lovely violet eyes and long lashes.

Quatre blushed. Duo knew the effect he had on people and liked to take advantage of it. He turned back to Heero. “Why is it my decision?” he asked, aware that he was whining a little.

“Because he's more likely to listen to you if you tell him no pouncing,” Heero answered. “In public or otherwise.”

“Well, definitely not in public,” Quatre said with a laugh. “Imagine the reporters reacting to that.”

“Aw, you'd deprive the poor people of our sexyness?” Duo teased.

Quatre blushed more. “Yes.” He didn’t particularly want strangers looking at Heero’s body. He already had to share his Heart of Space with many people, even if most of them weren’t also empaths.

“Aw, but Quat!” Duo reached for him, pulling him away from Heero and holding him close.

Quatre felt himself grow warmer at the attention and how Duo’s body fitted against his own. Now that he was emotionally and empathically lighter, his body was reminding him that it had certain needs that Duo could see to very easily. He had incredibly pleasant memories to back this up. 

“Duo…”

“Quat,” Duo responded with a breathy voice against his ear, nuzzling.

Behind them, he heard Relena sigh. “It's not fair when they start doing this too.”

“I apologize for my comrades’ lack of decorum,” Wufei responded.

She laughed softly. “Not that so much as I can't join in.”

Duo pulled away a little. “Oh you can totally join in, Princess. I’m all for it. Though Quatre only likes dudes so that might put a damper on things.”

She laughed more while Wufei grew even more flustered and growled at Duo’s impropriety. Quatre almost thought that Duo would try mentioning what they had talked about with Heero the day before, but instead the two continued to mostly tease Wufei, who grew increasingly more mortified, and Trowa joined in when he arrived in the kitchen for breakfast and tea. 

During the conversation, Quatre eventually noticed Heero carefully folding a paper napkin. “Done?”

Quatre nodded, sipping his tea--which was delicious--before setting the remains down. “Mm-hm.”

Heero slid off the counter and tucked the little folded lily into Duo’s braid. “Be good,” he said, before leaving.

Quatre followed Heero out of the kitchen. Behind them, Duo squawked indignantly. 

“What’s that about?” Quatre asked, bemused.

“I may have written something unflattering on the napkin,” Heero said. “We used to pass messages that way during school.” 

Quatre smiled softly at the reminder that Duo had, technically, known Heero longer. They had a lot of in jokes together that he just didn’t have with the other pilots. He felt left out and then felt bad for feeling that way. It was just how things were so it was probably silly to feel that way.

“Okay?” Heero asked softly.

Quatre nodded, blushing as he realized some of that must have carried over to Heero. He wasn’t sure if this was something he needed to worry about; he didn’t think he could control his emotions but he also knew that he felt things more intently than Heero did, who had much better control. 

It was maybe something they would also need to talk about at some point.

-

Duo reached back, carefully plucking the paper flower out of his hair. “He’s getting even weirder than usual.” 

Though they had never seen Heero in a relationship before, Wufei thought. Perhaps this was just how he was going to be. That would certainly making visiting the castle interesting from now on.

Trowa stood beside him with an amused expression. “What does it say?”

Duo unfolded the origami flower carefully, picking apart the folds. When he read the message, he frowned. “That guy!” 

Trowa read over his shoulder and, naturally, laughed. 

Duo pouted up at him. “S’not that funny.”

“Yes it is.”

Wufei sighed. “What has Yuy done this time?” he asked as he came over to read it as well. 

Duo handed the napkin over for him and Relena to look out, mock growling as Relena’s laughter joined Trowa’s. “Yuy! You come back here and say that to my face!” he yelled as he took off after Heero and Quatre.

Wufei groaned at the braided man’s behavior. “Maxwell…”

Still giggling, Relena asked, “Do you think he realizes Heero teases him because it's so easy?”

“Not really, no.” That would require Duo to think more about Heero’s actions and given their history, that was something that Duo usually tried to avoid. 

Trowa’s laughter calmed down to a quiet chuckle. “We should go or he'll latch onto us when he can't find them.”

“Not that you’d mind that,” Wufei muttered.

“True.”

Relena smiled fondly. “Wufei, have you seen the library yet?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.” They hadn’t gone in that direction the night before though he knew the general direction it was supposed to be.

“I think you'll like it. Trowa, would you like to come with us?” Relena offered, looking up at the tall boy hopefully.

Trowa gave her a soft smile in return. “No thanks. Books are more Wufei's thing.” 

Relena nodded and watched the tightrope walker leave, her expression faintly concerned.

“He’ll be fine,” Wufei told her, trying not to feel jealous. Relena cared about all of them and he himself had no claim over the girl at all. “Trowa most of all enjoys his own company at times.”

Relena smiled at him, some of her cheer returning. “Alright. Onward to the library then.”

Wufei nodded. “Lead the way.”

She grabbed his hand as if on impulse and tugged him down the hall. 

Wufei let her do so without argument or reminder that it was improper.

TBC


End file.
